Restraining device



June 10, 1941.

H. H. oeBuRN 2,245,293

RESTRAINING DEVICE Filed Sept. 10, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwue/wbo'nHeIbcr ZL H 096 4 rn,

June 10, 1941. H. H. OGBURN RESTRAINING DEVICE Fiied Sept. 10, 1940 2SheetsSheet 2 Patented June 10, 1941 RESTRAlNlNG DEVICE Herbert H.Ogburn, Greensboro, N. C.

Application September 10, 1940, Serial No. 356,287

8 Claims. (61. 128-434) This invention relates to restraining devices,and more particularly to devices for restraining movement of the arms orlegs of patients who, because of pain, or because they are delirious orinsane, might otherwise inflict injury upon themselves or others orinterfere with a surgeon while he is performing an operation.

While in some cases it is desirable,'or necessary, that the patient, asdistinguished from being restrained from rising from a bed, shall bealso restrained from making any movement whatever of his arms or legs,as the case may be, it is in many cases highly desirable that thepatient be generally restrained but permitted to move the restrainedlimbs through a limited range of movement, which will prevent crampingof the muscles and which also has a material psychological effect inlessening the fear and mental tension of the patient.

One of the objects of my invention is to pro vide a restraining deviceby which the arms or legs of a patient may be restrained so as to haveonly a limited range of movement. A further object is to provide such adevice which may be readily and quickly adjusted to reduce the permittedrange of movement or to prevent movement. Still further objects are toprovide such a device which is durable, strong, simple and inexpensiveto manufacture, and which can be readily adjusted upon the limbs of thepatient and then adjusted to move the limbs to their restrainedposition. A still further object is to provide a device of this type inwhich all of the adjustments may be quickly made, and in which theadjustments may be continuous, that is to say, may be varied toany pointwhatever throughout the desired range of adjustment.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the followingspecification which describes two embodiments of the invention which areillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is afragmentary view in perspective of a bed, with an embodiment of theinvention in place thereon;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary bottom plan View of the restraining device shownin Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the bottom of one of the cuifs, theattached parts being broken away; I

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of one of the strap-securing clips;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing a slightly modifiedembodiment of the invention in place upon a patient in the proneposition;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the device shown in Fig.5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in perspective similar to Fig. 5, butshowing the head of the patient as raised slightly, with the arms intheir lowermost position; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view in rear elevation of the head and shouldersof a patient, with the ,device of Figs. 5 and 6 shown in place.

In general, the invention com-prises a pair of cuffs which may be placedupon either the wrists or ankles of the patient and contracted andsecured in any position of adjustment thereon, said cuffs being securedto a base member, which is preferably underneath the patient, and whichis itself secured to the bed or table upon which the patient rests. Inthe embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the cuffs can not be raisedmaterially from the bed, but may be slid laterally upon the base memberaway from the side of the patient to an extent determined by anadjustable strap; while in the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 to 8 the basemember is in the form of a harness of crossed straps which form loopsengaged about the shoulders of the patient and the cuffs may be slid alimited distance along the straps toward and from the face of thepatient, while the straps may also be bent slightly upwardly to permitsome slight range of swinging movement, the extent of the slidingmovement of the cuffs as well as that of the swinging movement beingdependent upon the adjustment of the straps, which determine the size ofthe loops.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a base memberin the form of a wide strap ll, preferably of leather or similarmaterial and preferably of a length greater than the width of the bedI2, is adapted to be secured in place upon the top of the bed by asecuring strap 13 which passes under the bed, each of such straps beingprovided with the usual buckles Id and H3, or similar means, fordetachably securing together the ends of such straps. While in thenormal use of the device the patient rests upon the central portion ofthe base member II, it will be understood that, if it is desirable forany reason, the member H may be engaged over the body of the patient torestrain the movement of the body and effect a modified range ofmovement of the arms.

A pair of cuff members l6 and I1 are slidably mounted upon the basemember I I. Each of such cuff members preferably comprises a rectangularpiece l3 of heavy, relatively stiff leather or similar material, uponwhich a padding |9, composed of suitable spongy material enclosed inthin flexible leather or a similar covering is attached, as by stitching23. a strap 2| of less width than the cuff l8, and preferably of lesswidth than the base member strap H, is secured at one end to the outsideof one end of each cuff member, the other end of each cuff member havinga plurality of openings, such as 22, 23 and 24, therein at varyingdistances from the end of such cuff member, and each preferablyreinforced by a metal eyelet or grommet, through which the strap 2| maybe passed to hold the cuff contracted upon the arm or leg of thepatient. Adjacent to the openings friction clips 25, 26 and 2'1,respectively, are provided to receive and frictionally hold the strap 2|after it has been passed through the adjacent opening, has beenreversely bent and has then been engaged under the clip by movementlaterally of the cuff, that is, from the edge of the cuff toward itscenter. Each of the clips is formed as shown in Fig. 4, being ofU-shape, preferably formed of rather heavy metal, with a base having ahole 28 in its free end to receive a rivet 29 by which it is secured tothe cuff body I3. It will be understood that such clips are passedthrough openings in the cuff body l8, and preferably riveted to suchcuff body before the padding l9 is attached. The inner surface of thetop portion of each of the clips is formed with longitudinally extendingserrations 30 as shown in Fig. 4, in order to prevent slipping, and thefree end 3i of each clip is preferably bent slightly outwardly androunded, in order to facilitate the sliding engagement of the strap 2|thereunder. It will be understood that the top portion of each clip isspaced, by about the thickness of the strap 2|, from the outer surfaceof the cuff body If], and extends toward the side of the cuff body, todefine with the cuff a mouth opening laterally into which the strap 2|may be readily and quickly slid, thegrip being suificient to hold thestrap against any endwise extending slits 32 slightly longer than thewidth r of the strap H, to define a loop portion 33 between them underwhich the strap I is engaged, so that the cuff members may slidelengthwise of the strap Each of the cuff members is provided with atraction member 34 preferably in the form of a narrow strap having afiat hook member 35 at one end, detachably engaged over the loop portion33 of the cuff member, as shown in Fig. 2, and extending lengthwise of,and under, the strap under the loop portion of the other cuff member andthrough an opening 36 in the strap H. A reinforcing guide piece 3'! ispreferably attached to the center of strap II, as by stitching 38, andnot only holds the traction straps 34 in place but also serves as a stoppreventing movement of either cuif memher past the middle point of thestrap A pair of friction clips 39, larger than the clips 25, 26 and 2'!but of the same general formation, are secured by rivets all to thestrap adjacent the openings 36, the base of each clip as shown beingunderneath the strap II and extending around one edge thereof so as tobe spaced sufficiently from the upper face of such strap to receive andhold the corresponding strap 34 in adjusted position, after it has beenpassed through an opening 36 and bent back and slid laterally under suchclip 39.

With the device in place upon the bed as shown in Fig. 1, but with bothcuff members open and preferably at the edge of the bed, and with thepatient lying upon the strap II, the cuff members I3 and I! may beadjusted and secured upon the wrists of the patient. If the straps 34are not secured, the patient may move his wrists laterally, the range ofmovement being limited in one direction by the bend of strap H where itpasses over the edge of the bed and, in the other direction, by thepatients body. By pulling upon and securing the members 34 the range ofmovement can be decreased and, if desired, the wrists may be drawn upagainst the patients body and secured so as to prevent any movementwhatever thereof. If it is desired to secure the ankles of the patient,the device is properly positioned upon the bed, and the cuffs areadjusted and secured in the same way. It will be apparent, however, thatthe range of movement inwardly from the edge of the bed would extendalmost to the middle of the strap I I, but that the outer limit ofmovement could be adjusted as desired by means of the straps 34, andmovement could be prevented by drawing the cuff members substantiallyinto contact with each other, and securing the straps 34.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 to 8, the cuff members 4| and 42 aresubstantially identical with those shown in Figs. 1 to 3, but since theyare to be used only upon the wrists, two adjustment-strap-receivingopenings probably would be sufiicient to cover the full range ofadjustment needed, and the slits 43 and 44 extend parallel to the edgesof the cuff members to provide a loop portion 45 between them by whichthey are slidably secured to the base memher. The base member of suchmodification comprises a pair of straps 46 and 41, preferably havingwidened ends which are crossed and secured together by a loose rivet 48so as to permit relative swinging movement. The unattached ends of thestraps 46 and 41 are of less width and pass under the loop portions 45of the cuff members 4| and 42, respectively. Adjacent their widenedends, the straps 46 and 47 are each provided with an opening having aneyelet or grommet 49 therein and with a friction clip 50, similar to theclips 25, 26 and 21, shown in Fig. 3, to receive and hold the free endof the other of such straps 46 and 41. As will be apparent from thedrawings, particularly Fig, 6, the two straps cooperate to form. twoloops adjustably engageable about the shoulders of the patient andcrossed back of the neck of the patient. In order to prevent the patientfrom rising from the bed, a separate strap 5| is passed between thepatient and the straps 46 and 47 where they cross, and its ends aresecured together after being passed about the bed or a portion thereof,as shown in Fig. 7. If it is desired, the strap 5| may be permanently,or detachably, secured to the rivet 48.

It will be apparent, particularly from Figs. 5 and 7, that in additionto the patient being able to slide the cuffs toward his face along thestraps 4B and 41, the patient can also bend the straps to swing theloops formed by the straps upwardly to bring the cuff members, and hiswrists, above his shoulders. It will likewise be apparent that, byadjusting and securing the free ends of the straps 46 and 4'! the sizeof the loops may be decreased and the range of permitted movementreduced as desired.

It will be understood that either of the devices may be used upon anoperating table or chair as well as upon a bed and the term bed is usedherein to indicate any such support for the patient. Likewise, as statedheretofore, the strap ll of the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may beengaged over the patient and, if desired, the cuffs may be adjusted tobring and hold the wrists of the patient substantially into contact witheach other or to permit a limited range of movement from such position.

By the use of the friction clips the adjustments are continuouslyvariable, to permit exactly the adjustment desired, and any suchadjustment may be quickly and easily made or chan ed.

What I claim is:

1. In a restraining device, the combination of a base member, means fordetachably securing said base member to a bed, and a cuff member securedto and slidable along said base member, said cuff member being flexibleto permit folding about a limb of a patient and having means for holdingit in adjusted condition comprising a strap secured at one end to oneend of said cuff, said cuff having a plurality of openings thereinadjacent its other end through which said strap can be passed, and arigid clip extending laterally of said cuff frictionally engaging saidstrap to prevent endwise movement of said strap when it has been slidlaterally under said clip.

2. In a restraining device, the combination of a base member, means fordetachably securing said base member to a bed, and a pair of cuffmembers secured to and slidable along said base member, each of saidcuff members being foldable about a limb of a patient and having a strapattached to one end thereof and having a plurality of openings variablyspaced from its other end to receive said strap, and having meansadjacent said openings for frictionally engaging said strap in anyposition of adjustment to hold it from endwise movement, whereby acontinuous range of adjustment of the perimeter of said cufi member iseffected.

3. In a restraining device, the combination of a base member, means fordetachably securing said base member to a bed, and a pair of cuifmembers each having a loop therein engaged about said base member topermit sliding movement thereof along said base member, each of saidcuff members having a strap of less width than the cuff member securedto the outer face of said cuff member, and having a plurality oflaterally-extending strap-receiving openings variably spaced from oneend thereof, and a rigid clip extending laterally of said cuff andhaving a free end spaced from the outer face thereof to define astrap-receiving mouth adapted to receive and hold said strap fromendwise movement.

4. In a restraining device, the combination of a base member, means forsecuringsaid base member upon the upper surface of a bed, a pair of cuffmembers secured to said base member and slidable relatively thereto,means for moving said cuff members toward each other, and meanscooperating with said moving means for holding said cuffs from movementaway from each other.

5. In a restraining device, the combination of a base member, means fordetachably securing said base member to a bed with at least a portion ofsaid base member underneath a patient, and a pair of cufi memberssecured to and slidably mounted upon said base member, each of saidlcufi members being flexible and having means thereon for securing it inadjusted position about a limb of the patient, a separate tractionmember for each of said cuff members, secured at one end to the cuffmember and extending along said base member underneath the other cuffmember, and means for holding each of said traction members in adjustedposition.

6. In a restraining device, the combination of a base member, means fordetachably securing said base member to a bed, and a pair of cuffmembers slidably mounted upon said base member, and adjustable means forvarying the possible range of movement of said cuff members.

7. In a restraining device, the combination of a base member comprisinga pair of straps each having an anchored end and a free end, said strapsbeing secured together adjacent their anchored ends, and the free end ofeach of said straps being adapted to be detachably secured to theanchored end of the other of said straps to form a pair of loopsengageable about the shoulders of a patient with said anchored ends backof the neck of the patient, a pair of cuff members each mounted on oneof said straps, means cooperating with each of said cuff members tosecure it in adjusted, folded position about an arm of the patient, andmeans for securing said base member to a bed.

8. In a restraining device, the combination of a base member comprisinga pair of straps each having an anchored end and a free end, said strapsbeing secured together adjacent their anchored ends and each having anopening therein adjacent its end adapted to receive the free end of theother of said straps and means for securing the free end of such otherstrap in adjusted position, a pair of cufi members slidably mounted uponsaid straps, respectively, means carried by each of said cuff membersfor adjustably holding it folded about an arm of a patient, and meansfor detachably securing said base member to a bed.

HERBERT H. OGBURN.

